Following Istanbul talks, Russia tempered expectations for a swift resolution in Ukraine, demanding troop withdrawal from annexed regions as a precondition for a ceasefire. Kyiv seeks a full cessation of hostilities,

In the first, it would stop firing once Ukraine begins a complete withdrawal from the parts that it still controls of four regions that Russia claims: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. This would have to be completed within 30 days.

The sides agreed on a large-scale swap of captured soldiers and exchanged their roadmaps to peace, or so-called ‘memorandums’, at the discussions, which lasted less than two hours.